Now in its eighth year of recognizing exceptional women in the dental industry, Dental Products Report is thrilled to introduce the Top 25 Women in Dentistry for 2017.

When Vanessa Emerson started working with professional speakers, she didn’t realize that she had found her true calling. Her first position came at a time of transition within her career, but she’s so grateful for the timing. Today, Emerson helps event planners find and work with speakers through the Directory of Dental Speakers and Dental Speaker Bureau. She also works through the Dental Speaker Institute to offer an educational curriculum through which dental professionals gain the skills and knowledge to grow successful speaking and consulting businesses, all while speaking at events herself.

“Knowing that the work we do benefits speakers, planners, meeting attendees and, ultimately, patients drives me to do more and be more,” she says of the many hats she wears. “I enjoy seeing our speaker clients growing professionally and when our event planners receive rave reviews after working with our speakers. I’m honored to be a speaker on the national and state speaking circuit, helping dental professionals learn how to transition into and grow a dental speaking business.”

It all started in 2001 when she found herself on the hunt for a job after the medical office she was managing closed. She answered an ad for an assistant to a dental speaker and consultant. That’s when she started working with her mentor and close colleague, Katherine Eitel Belt.

“Katherine encouraged me to provide coaching and design services to help other speakers and consultants,” she says. “I will be forever grateful for her abundant mindset and mentorship. We worked together for a dozen years and until her business went in a new direction and mine required me full-time.”

Emerson is proud to have helped introduce something valuable and new to the dental industry with her business. She saw a need and she decided to fill it. Over the past 10 years, she’s developed a vigorous offering of products and services that bridge the gap between event planner and speaker and help both meet their business goals.

“I believe that dentistry is home to the most generous, kind people on the planet,” she says. “I have received many opportunities and experienced few challenges. Networking has been a major factor in my businesses development and growth. Organizations such as Speaking Consulting Network and Academy of Dental Management Consultants offer networking opportunities that skyrocket a business and create supportive, lifelong relationships.”

Throughout her tenure as a speaker and organizer, Emerson has observed many shifts and changes within the industry. While she sees fewer young dental professionals at traditional meetings, she is happy to have adopted online education and digital means of communication. She also believes that corporate dentistry has introduced many new opportunities within the industry.

“Meetings are more important than ever,” she says. “Dental meetings, whether large or small, are where dental professionals can meet face-to-face with industry experts and mentors, where new ideas are heard and born, where brainstorming occurs, challenges are resolved, decisions are reached and knowledge is expanded.”

In the future, she hopes to see more dental professionals embracing the opportunity to share their unique experience and knowledge from the podium.